Peggy Becker: Helpful Partner or Insidiously Evil Villain ?
RNeill22
recurring role as Peggy Becker. From most of her episodes of TRF, I got the
impression of her as a great partner for Dennis. She seems tough, intelligent,
loyal to her husband and probably a very good wife.
Yet, in watching Kill The Messenger on WGN this week, it struck me that
there’s an insidious undercurrent to her behavior in this episode. She knows
that her husband is studying and preparing for an important promotion AND
handling an awkward “hot potato” murder case. Despite her awareness of all
these simultaneous pressures on him, she blithely asks Dennis to arrange a ride
in a squad car for their guests and take time to arrange a special tour at
Universal. She calls Dennis up at work to ask him to drive to Palmdale to pick
up the guests. This sort of clueless, insensitive behavior seems more
characteristic of a featherbrained Lucy Ricardo-like sitcom housewife than the
tough clear-minded Peggy Becker of the other episodes. I’d have expected
Peggy to explain to the guests that Dennis is undergoing a major crunch at work
and can’t be as attentive a host as he’d like to be during their visit.
At the end of Kill The Messenger, Dennis mentions to his cop-partner Dusenberg
that he realizes Dusenberg wasn’t able to provide much help on the Towne case
because Mrs. Dusenberg is about to give birth any second. Peggy cavalierly
volunteers: “Oh, no I just asked her. She’s not due for another 5
weeks.” A smart lady like Peggy must realize that uncovering Dusenberg’s
lie at that moment is an awkward thing to do and could create a rift between
Dusenberg and Dennis. What was she thinking?
Maybe the character isn’t just inconsistently written. Maybe when Juanita
Bartlett wrote this episode, she was adding a new element to Peggy’s
personality. We saw in To Protect And Serve how (understandably) angry and
jealous Peggy got when she found out Dennis had a drink with buff / groupie Lee
Ann instead of coming home to her.
Maybe it goes further than that. Maybe Peggy is extremely possessive about
Dennis. Maybe she resents “coming in second to the Department” in
Dennis’ life -- as Dennis says about cops’ wives in his interrogation of
Chief Towne. Maybe she’s trying to sabotage Dennis’ attempted promotion,
figuring that promotion would lead to additional responsibilities that would
take up even more of the time she thinks he should be spending with her.
Her remark about Mrs. Dusenberg’s pregnancy could really have been a
passive-aggressive attempt on her part to drive a wedge between Dennis and
Dusenberg, her jealousy and possessiveness extending even to her husband’s
work-partner. In light of this villainous behavior on her part, I think I’ll
have to re-view Peggy’s other episodes to look for other clues to her
attempts to isolate Dennis from others and have him to herself. What other
evil schemes has she plotted? Could it be she’s still smarting over Dennis'
relationship with the mysterious Nancy he mentioned in “The Countess?” And
whatever happened to ‘Nancy’ anyway? Did jealous Peggy threaten her into
leaving town...or even kill her?
BTW, the supermarket where Eileen Towne was found dead looked to me like the
same one we saw in “Where’s Houston?” Except the cigarette machine
isn’t out front anymore.
Bill Anderson
I don't think it's the same place.
The parking lot in "Kill The Messenger" is now a Jons in Hollywood on
Highland, one block south of Sunset Boulevard.
Bill Anderson
BAH
>At the end of Kill The Messenger, Dennis mentions to his cop-partner Dusenberg
>that he realizes Dusenberg wasn’t able to provide much help on the Towne case
>because Mrs. Dusenberg is about to give birth any second. Peggy cavalierly
>volunteers: “Oh, no I just asked her. She’s not due for another 5
>weeks.” A smart lady like Peggy must realize that uncovering Dusenberg’s
>lie at that moment is an awkward thing to do and could create a rift between
>Dusenberg and Dennis. What was she thinking?
Simple - women aren't bound by the "Guy Rules" that every man knows
and respects. We just know instinctively not to rat on a fellow man.
Brady
RNeill22
>From: BAH ba...@bellsouth.net
>Simple - women aren't bound by the "Guy Rules" that every man knows
>and respects. We just know instinctively not to rat on a fellow man.
>
>Brady
>
Good observation, Brady. That does seem to be a dividing point between men and
women in most cases. I had been giving Peggy Becker credit for being a bit
more hip and discrete in that area than most women, but her behavior in Kill
The Messenger causes me to call into question that assumption.
Also of interest to me is Lt. Chapman's behavior in KTM. He's written like
Frank Burns on MASH: a brown-nosing chatterbox who wants to take glory for
everything that goes right and eagerly wants to punish anyone who he thinks
doesn't live up to the official standards.
That behavior is not inconsistent with the Chapman of other episodes, but it's
seldom we get to see him behaving so Frank Burns-ishly. I kept expecting Chief
Towne to tell him: "Sut up, Ferret-Face!"
Adam H. Kerman
>Good observation, Brady. That does seem to be a dividing point between men
>and women in most cases. I had been giving Peggy Becker credit for being
>a bit more hip and discrete in that area than most women, but her behavior
>in Kill The Messenger causes me to call into question that assumption.
Perhaps the script writer was having a fight with his wife and made Peggy
too stereotyped in this episode.
>Also of interest to me is Lt. Chapman's behavior in KTM. He's written like
>Frank Burns on MASH: a brown-nosing chatterbox who wants to take glory for
>everything that goes right and eagerly wants to punish anyone who he thinks
>doesn't live up to the official standards.
>That behavior is not inconsistent with the Chapman of other episodes,
>but it's seldom we get to see him behaving so Frank Burns-ishly. I kept
>expecting Chief Towne to tell him: "Sut up, Ferret-Face!"
I agree. Chapman was so over the top he wasn't believable
There can be only one Frank!
Larry Linville was tv's top fall guy in the '70's, much funnier than Ted
Baxter on "Mary Tyler Moore". His "Rockford" character wasn't very
interesting, though. He was very funny as the forenscic pathologist in
several "Kolchak" episodes.
He didn't do much tv in the last few years of his life.
RNeill22
>His "Rockford" character wasn't very
>interesting, though. He was very funny as the forenscic pathologist in
>several "Kolchak" episodes.
In the "Chopper" episode of "Kolchak" that I saw last week (the same one that
had the other 'Electric Larry' in it) Linville played the police captain
investigating the murders. The role really wasn't that much different from
Frank Burns.
Supposedly Linville left MASH because he got tired of playing Frank Burns, yet
it seems as though a lot of his post-MASH characters weren't really that much
different from Burns. Poor guy.
Adam H. Kerman
>Adam H. Kerman" a...@chinet.chinet.com wrote:
>>He was very funny as the forenscic pathologist in several "Kolchak" episodes.
>In the "Chopper" episode of "Kolchak" that I saw last week (the same one that
>had the other 'Electric Larry' in it) Linville played the police captain
>investigating the murders.
Am I not remembering? Who played the pathologist, then?
>Supposedly Linville left MASH because he got tired of playing Frank Burns, yet
>it seems as though a lot of his post-MASH characters weren't really that much
>different from Burns. Poor guy.
Yeah, it's too bad he didn't play a wider variety of characters. He was
really quite talented.
RNeill22
>>In the "Chopper" episode of "Kolchak" that I saw last week (the same one
>that
>>had the other 'Electric Larry' in it) Linville played the police captain
>>investigating the murders.
>
>Am I not remembering? Who played the pathologist, then?
In the first Night Stalker Made-For-TV movie, Linville did play the Las Vegas
autopsy surgeon who held a press conference about the vampire murders.
When the Night Stalker became a weekly series, John (The Competitive Edge)
Fiedler had a recurring role as the morgue attendant. I don't remember any
recurring forensic pathologist in the series, though. I think Linville's only
role on the TV series itself was that one "Chopper" episode as the cop.
>Yeah, it's too bad he didn't play a wider variety of characters. He was
>really quite talented.
Yes!
Adam H. Kerman
>>>In the "Chopper" episode of "Kolchak" that I saw last week (the same one
>>>that had the other 'Electric Larry' in it) Linville played the police
>>>captain investigating the murders.
>>Am I not remembering? Who played the pathologist, then?
>In the first Night Stalker Made-For-TV movie, Linville did play the Las Vegas
>autopsy surgeon who held a press conference about the vampire murders.
That's right; that's where I remember him from.
>When the Night Stalker became a weekly series, John (The Competitive Edge)
>Fiedler had a recurring role as the morgue attendant.
I certainly remember John Fiedler, another favorite character actor.